Huawei considers using Sailfish OS instead of its own OS

Huawei hasn't provided any specifics as to when the operating system could launch publicly, with Shao Yang, the chief strategy officer of Huawei's business consumer group, describing the release date as "a secret".

Russian news publisher The Bell now reports that Huawei could replace Android with the Aurora OS, which is based on the Linux Sailfish OS distribution from Finnish firm Jolla. The company also plans to use Hongmeng OS for tablets and PCs, as revealed in its trademark description that was approved by the Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) last month.

Huawei has been investing a large amount of resources into research and development and has been working on its own operating system over the past few years to accommodate the possibility of USA action against the company. The Galaxy Fold has this kind of artifact too - we suspected it was just something we have to get used to with early folding display devices, but perhaps it's being improved.

Although Google said existing Huaweiphones will continue to receive Android security updates to protect the devices from viruses and hacking, the Chinese firm had to act to safeguard its plans for future product launches in global markets.

Washington's sanctions, which prompted Google to scale back access to Huawei for the Android system and popular Google apps, are believed to have prompted the Chinese tech giant to accelerate plans for rollout of its own OS that has been in development in secret for years.

A bigger issue to many however is whether the device would be running Google's Android. The software is said to be compatible with all Android apps.

Huawei is resistant to this USA assault however, with founder Ren Zhengfei stating that the company was prepared to take on the United States and would not be too adversely affected by the trade ban.

Huawei's latest system in its flagship smartphones is EMUI 9.1 on top of Android 9 Pie system.

According to this report, HongMeng/Ark OS is 60% faster than Android and is being tested by companies including Oppo, Vivo, and Tencent.